Conventional image forming apparatuses provide a transferring unit and an inverse carrying path. The transferring unit, which includes a carrying belt and a transferring roller, is positioned under an image forming unit. The image forming unit for forming toner images is pivotally attached to an apparatus body. The inverse carrying path, which is for a sheet for two-sided printing, is mounted under the transferring unit. The transferring unit transfers a toner image, which is formed in the image forming unit, onto a sheet that is carried by the carrying belt on the inverse carrying path mounted between the image forming unit and the transferring unit. A fusing unit fuses the toner image on the sheet. Then, the sheet is ejected to the outside of the apparatus.
When a sheet carried on the sheet carrying path between the image forming unit and the transferring unit jams, the sheet causing the jam is removed, without detaching the image forming unit, by pivoting the image forming unit and keeping the space between the image forming unit and the transferring unit (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-349780, Paragraph 0016-0023, 0036-0045, FIGS. 1 and 12).
However, with the above-described conventional art, when the carrying belt of the transferring unit is replaced and when a jam occurs during two-sided printing by the sheet being carried on the inverse carrying path mounted under the transferring unit, in order to replace the carrying belt or to remove the jammed sheet, the transferring unit must be detached with tools. And then, after the replacement of the carrying belt and the removal of the jammed sheet, the transferring unit must be mounted to the printer again with the tools. This increases the workload of the operators.
The present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and provides a configuration in which the transferring unit mounted to the image forming apparatus can be easily attached and detached.